Authorities Investigate Attempted Abduction

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- Authorities are investigating the possible attempted abduction of a 13-year-old boy on Friday morning.

According to the Albuquerque Police Department, an unidentified suspect may have attempted to kidnap the boy near Washington Middle School on Friday morning.

Authorities are working to obtain possible surveillance video of the incident. Still, witnesses say the suspect was armed with a knife.

Police are also investigating whether the incident could have been an attempted robbery of the child's expensive headphones.

The APD is providing a pair of officers and a patrol watch at the school and a nearby park.

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Teen Girl Charged with Extortion

(SANTA FE, N.M.) -- New Mexico State Police arrested a 17-year-old female on May 10 at a Santa Fe, N.M., Walmart.

According to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, the victim contacted police after Selena Velasquez demanded that a man she had previously engaged in sexual contact with pay her $500 each week for three weeks. She allegedly told the man that if he did not cooperate, she would tell police that he had raped her.

A sting was set up for May 10, and Velasquez was taken into custody when she arrived at the meeting place.

Velasquez was booked into Santa Fe County juvenile detention center on felony extortion charges.

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Deputy Among Two Injured in Late-Night Crash

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- A Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputy is among two people who were injured in a vehicular crash in Albuquerque on Thursday night.

The crash was reported shortly before 11 p.m. on Academy Road near Layton. The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department says the deputy's vehicle was headed west on Academy Road when an eastbound vehicle trying to turn, collided with it.

The deputy and the female driver of the other vehicle were taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital for treatment to non-life threatening injuries.

The cause of the crash is being investigated.

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Vandals Cause $10,000 Worth of Damage at Bachechi Open Space

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- The Bachechi Open Space has been the target of vandalism twice in one week, causing approximately $10,000 worth of damage.

Parks and Recreation Department officials found the northern area of the open space, owned by Bernalillo County, flooded Wednesday morning. The person or persons responsible had apparently set up irrigation valves to redirect water from a nearby canal onto the property, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

The Journal reports that at least one trail was washed away and a number of shrubs were uprooted. In addition to the damage, thousands of gallons of water may have been wasted.

Officials had found the canal nearly overflowing on Tuesday, but managed to resolve the issue without incident.

The locks on the valves have been changed, and law enforcement has asked the public to report any suspicious activity they might see.

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Corrections Dept. Audit Finds Over 50 Criminals Wrongly Released

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- More than 50 criminals were mistakenly released from state prisons between September 2010-2012, including five drug dealers and violent offenders.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, the inmates were released between four days and four years early, according to a Corrections Department audit.

Still, not all of the criminals will return to prison. According to the Journal, Corrections Department officials will determine which criminals will return to jail based on how they have integrated into society and how early they were released.

No names have been released to avoid alerting them before law enforcement can locate them.

Six of the inmates mistakenly released have returned to prison on new charges.

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Cops Seek Suspect Who Tried to Kidnap 5-Year-Old Girl

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- Police are searching for a suspect in an attempted kidnapping in Albuquerque on Wednesday evening.

The incident happened around 6:35 p.m. on the 1700 block of Indian School Road. Police said a male suspect forced a 5-year-old girl into his vehicle and then drove off. The child's mother then gave chase in her vehicle, with the suspect then reportedly pushing the child out of the vehicle a short distance away.

Police say the mother crashed her vehicle into the suspect's vehicle, with the suspect then exiting and fleeing the scene.

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Missing Texas Man with Alzheimer’s May Have Driven to NM

(SANTA FE, N.M.) -- An elderly man from El Paso County, Texas, with Alzheimer's, who has not been seen since Saturday may have driven to New Mexico, according to Texas authorities and New Mexico State Police.

Victor Vargas, 72, was last seen at his house in Clint, Texas. Officials believe he may have driven to a piece of property his wife owns in Cloud Croft, New Mexico. They think he may have traveled to Albuquerque after that.

Vargas is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, depression, and suicidal tendencies, and officials are worried he may be in danger because of his conditions.

Vagas is described as a Hispanic male, standing 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 210 pounds. He is balding, has a tattoo on his right arm reading “vic,” and he notably has one blue eye and one brown eye.

He was driving a grey/silver Chevy Silverado truck with Texas plate AC78811.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department at 915-546-2284 and ask for Deputy Jay Andujo.

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Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison for Fatal crash

(ALBUQERUQUE, N.M.) -- An Albuquerque man was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and three additional years of supervised release on Tuesday for involuntary manslaughter, The Albuquerque Journal reports.

The man, 25-year-old Lawrence Presley O’Dell, crashed his vehicle while driving while intoxicated on June 25, killing his passenger, Ramus James.

O’Dell, an enrolled member of the Navajo nation, was arrested last October, and has been in custody since that time.

He pleaded guilty to the crime.

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Suspected Carjacker Killed in Rollover Crash

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- A suspected carjacker is dead following a crash in Albuquerque on Tuesday afternoon.

Police say around 2:45 p.m. they received a call about an attempted robbery at a local store in the area of Fourth Street and Alameda Boulevard; following which, there was another call about a carjacking at the same location. As officers were out searching for the stolen car and the suspect, police were informed about a rollover crash in the vicinity of Fourth Street and Ranchitos Road.

Police say the driver was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and the vehicle in the crash, matched the description of the carjacker and the stolen car, according to investigators.

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State Police Officer Saves Girl Trapped Under Flipped SUV

(CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M.) -- A New Mexico State Police Officer responding to the scene of a vehicle roll-over on Interstate 40, saved a girl last Wednesday who had been trapped under the flipped SUV, the New Mexico Department of Public Safety announced Tuesday.

The accident occurred on May 8 at 7:40 a.m. when a black Ford SUV rolled-over near milepost 92 on I-40. Officer Steven Nunez arrived at the scene, and noticed that a girl was trapped underneath the roof of the upside-down vehicle.

The SUV was crushing three quarters of the 8-year-old’s body, according to police. Nunez had already called in for an ambulance, and attempted to life the vehicle using a jack, but had been unsuccessful.

Suddenly Nunez noticed that she had stopped breathing. When she gasped suddenly, Nunez “realized action needed to be taken immediately, or else the girl would die,” according to the department.

Nunez called over four bystanders, and the five of them were able to lift the vehicle up enough to get the girl out.  She was taken to UNMH via air ambulance, where she is reportedly in serious but stable condition.

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